New School

The Largest Surfing Encyclopedia

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A-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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In the world of professional surfing, the '90s belonged to a group of clean-cut, tail-sliding kids gallivanting around the globe. Following the lead of Kelly Slater, or at least attempting to, they played guitar, played golf and played around in the surf. Along the way, most of them rose to the competitive pinnacle of the sport -- the World Championship Tour. Though not the first to adopt the title, the young Americans came to be known as the New School as they created a global shift in surfing values.

Not having developed the brute force to lay every turn on a rail, these young guns instead relied on speed, quickness and innovation. Inspired by skateboarding and snowboarding, they busted airs, slid tail and -- because they were all packed together at the Weatherley House at Pipeline, with nowhere to hide -- they charged big surf. While young surfers found their act earth-shattering, it was basically an extension of previous envelope-pushers. Larry Bertlemann was doing it in the '70s, Martin Potter and Matt Kechele in the '80s and Matt Archbold and Christian Fletcher had been testing the limits of progressive surfing ever since. But suddenly, there was a whole pack of 'em, traveling together, surfing together and showing up on video together.

The New School would have been nothing without Taylor Steele, who would have been nothing without Slater. Steele's name entered the surfing radar in 1992 with the release of Momentum, a video showcasing his young buddies in an MTV-style montage of fast-paced clips accompanied by monotonous, second-generation punk soundtracks. The names went on to become household -- Rob Machado, Ross Williams, Kalani Robb, the Brothers Malloy, a bunch of guys named Shane and several others. Nowhere in Steele's early videos would you find narration, slow motion or even a complete ride. In teasing snippets, the kids were amazing, but Steele refused to show a wave from start to finish. By showing just a few choice moves from an entire session, he could turn each surfer into a hero. Who knows what happened after each explosive maneuver? Who cares!

Reaction to the New School depended on which side of the 25-year-old fence you sat. Kids everywhere went head over heels, while the established ranks cried farce. Some established surfers incorporated the new moves into their repertoire to keep pace. Others insisted that power was everything, and to prove it, they went out and crushed the youngsters into little pieces. But they couldn't stop Slater. In his first full season on tour, he surpassed all predictions to become the 1992 world champion. Granted, his act had as much of Curren's precision and flow as it had new-age invention, but then he'd pull something out of his ass and leave you breathless.

While Slater surged to the top again and again and again, it was slow going for some of his cohorts. It wasn't until the year 2000 before the ASP allowed the word "progressive" into its criteria, but with each installment of Steele's work, the surfers grew up before our eyes. They developed power, forced many elders into retirement, saturated the magazines and pulled down lucrative contracts. For those who couldn't fathom three-to-the-beach, there arose the position of video pro -- a heavily sponsored traveler whose name you won't see on any ratings sheet. An army of Steele wanna-bes mimicked his formula and flooded the video racks.

Grommets and groupies stormed the surf shops for each new release, wanting to see what new moves their heroes had perfected. In the water, all prerequisites for radical surfing were forgotten as youngsters learned to stand up and immediately wanted to throw some tail. Gullible kids were blowing their savings on fiberglass toothpicks and trying to chop-hop their way to stardom. Power and style, formerly the hallmarks of good surfing, fell by the wayside. Closeout beachbreaks became the proving ground, and pure surfing was nearly forgotten in the rush for spinning nirvana.

Slater, bored with the lack of competition, stepped off his throne in 1998 as a six-time champ, but none of his disciples could carry the crown. Instead, two thirtysomething power brokers -- Mark Occhilupo and Sunny Garcia -- gouged out titles before the ASP championship skipped a generation to land on the head of 22 year-old CJ Hobgood, a direct beneficiary of the New School's philosophy.

But Slater's classmates didn't drop out entirely. Many remain relevant today. Shane Beschen made a brief return to the world tour in 2004 while Dorian enjoys a second life as a big-wave charger and XXL winner. Machado - who came closest to the title, finishing 3rd in 2001 -- still commands a soulful following. And Taylor Knox holds out as the last New Schooler on the whole damn 'CT. Except one. Yes, Slater came back, racking up three more titles between 2001 and 2008 for a total of nine -- more importantly, handed every competitive nerd the ultimate cheat sheet to winning in the coming decade: just blend progression, style and power.

Today, every surfer is a bit more explosive. More competitive. And more complete. Photo pros stomp aerials to make Fletcher eat his own cigarettes. While the best competitors mix tech moves and tuberides in heat, so advanced they make 1992 look as dated as '29. And the rest of us? Instead of merely banking off an oncoming section, we are inspired to try something new, something different. And for that, we should be grateful.

-- Jason Borte (updated, December 2009)